Adhesive mounted storage rack, method, and kit

ABSTRACT

A method for attaching an object to a surface using an adhesive. Prior to applying the adhesive, the surface is prepared by rubbing the surface with an eraser. After rubbing the surface, the eraser dust is wiped away, the adhesive is applied to the surface and the object is placed against the adhesive.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The invention relates, as indicated, to an adhesive mountedstorage rack, method, and kit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Storage racks for small articles, ranging from pencils and pensto other items such as paint brushes, cassettes, computer floppy disks,small containers and electrical cords are available in many sizes,styles, constructions and configurations. The storage racks may bemounted to a support surface using an adhesive, such as a double sidedadhesive tape, which is placed between the storage rack and the supportsurface. A drawback of using an adhesive to bond the storage rack to thesupport surface is that the bond strength of the adhesive is effected byfilms, contaminants, etc. that are present on the support surface.Conventional cleaning methods may not be effective in removing allcontaminants on the support surface, or convenient to use to remove suchcontaminants; thus, bond strength is not optimal. Therefore, thereexists a need for preparing a surface for an adhesive that provides anenhanced bond between the adhesive and the surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] One aspect of the present invention relates to a method formounting an object to a support surface using an adhesive.

[0004] Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of attachingan object to a surface, including rubbing the surface with a rubber orsoap eraser; and using adhesive material at the rubbed surface to holdthe object to the surface.

[0005] Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of attachingan object to a surface, including rubbing the surface with a commonpencil eraser; and using adhesive material at the rubbed surface to holdthe object to the surface.

[0006] Another aspect of the invention relates to a kit for mounting anobject to a surface, including a rubber or soap eraser, wherein thesurface is rubbed by the eraser; and an adhesive material to hold theobject to the surface rubbed by the eraser.

[0007] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, theinvention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described inthe specification and particularly pointed out in the claims, thefollowing description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detailcertain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these beingindicative, however, of but several of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be suitably employed.

[0008] Although the invention is shown and described with respect to oneor more embodiments, it is to be understood that equivalents andmodifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the readingand understanding of the specification. The present invention includesall such equivalents and modifications, and is limited only by the scopeof the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in thefollowing drawings wherein:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a storage rack for smallarticles constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention with hidden parts shown by dashed lines and portions of thearticles being supported broken away for compactness of illustration;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the storage rack of FIG. 1 withhidden parts shown by dashed lines;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing asecond embodiment of the invention;

[0014]FIG. 5 is a plan view of a flattened retainer loop of theembodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings; and

[0015]FIG. 6 is a plan view of a flattened retainer loop of a modifiedembodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

[0016]FIG. 7 is a kit for mounting a storage rack in accordance with theinvention.

[0017]FIG. 8 is a side view of a storage rack mounted to a supportsurface in accordance with the invention.

[0018]FIG. 9 illustrates the method of preparation of a surface inaccordance with the invention.

[0019]FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of an adhesive tape used tomount the storage rack in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] It has been discovered that the bond strength between an adhesiveand a surface can be increased by rubbing an eraser, such as a rubber orsoap eraser, on or against the bonding region of the surface prior toapplying the adhesive. An example of eraser is a conventional pencileraser, although other rubber or soap erasers may be used. The bondingor adhesion of the adhesive to the rubbed surface or an object that isbeing attached by the adhesive to the rubbed surface is noticeablyenhanced, e.g., the strength of adherence is greater, as compared toadherence to an unrubbed surface.

[0021] The rubbing action of the eraser appears to remove at least someof the film which may cover the surface, thus providing an improvedbonding region between the adhesive and the surface. The film may ariseon the surface due to various contaminants, such dirt, dust, oil, aircontaminants, smoke, grease, finger prints, etc. Film is removed fromthe surface by rubbing the eraser approximately six to eight times (ormore or less, as needed) across the intended bonding region of thesurface. The rubbing action by the eraser may cause an abrading of thesurface. After rubbing the surface, the eraser dust is wiped away with aclean cloth or by hand.

[0022] Tests have shown that using the invention, e.g., rubbing thesurface with an eraser six to eight times prior to applying theadhesive, results in a better bond, e.g., stronger adhesion, thancleaning the surface with alcohol prior to applying the adhesive.

[0023] Using the invention, the rubbed surface may be wood, metal,plastic, glass, etc., and may be painted, stained, varnished, waxed ornot; relatively improved strength of adherence to the surface appears toapply to all of these materials and conditions.

[0024] Exemplary bonding material is adhesive tape, foam tape, rubberbased foam tape, etc.; usually such tape has adhesive on both surfacesor sides of the tape. The tape is placed between the object to beattached to a surface and the surface itself. Non-limiting examples oftape are Avery 2116 or Kapco 4016. Direct application of adhesive alsomay be used between the surface and the object to be attached to thesurface.

[0025] Various tape bases and adhesives may be used, such as rubberbased adhesive or acrylics.

[0026] As one example of practicing the invention, double sided tape(tape with adhesive available at both sides or surfaces thereof), e.g.,Avery 2016 or Kapco 4016, was applied to the surface of an objectintended to be adhered to a wall of a room. An eraser was rubbed six oreight times against the area of the wall surface where attachment was tooccur. Eraser dust was wiped away. The object and tape were pressedagainst the wall surface to adhere the object to the surface.

[0027] If desired, the surface of the object to which the tape was firstapplied also could be rubbed with an eraser and wiped clean beforeapplying the tape to the object. Also, if desired, the tape could beapplied first to the wall and then the object could be pressed againstthe tape to adhere the object to the wall.

[0028] The method of the invention may be used to attach a storage rackto a wall of a room, to a surface of furniture, etc. An example of astorage rack with which the invention may be used is shown in FIGS. 1-3and 5 of the drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of a storage rack21 for storing small articles. It will be appreciated that the inventionmay be used for attaching other devices to various surfaces.

[0029] As is most clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rack 21 may beused for the storage of a variety of small articles of varying sizes,shapes and descriptions. Specifically, for purposes of illustration andnot by way of limitation, a pencil 23 and a computer disk 25 are shownsupported on the rack. It should be understood and appreciated thatother articles such as measuring tapes, chalk, putty knives, erasers,paint brushes, cassettes, wire, cords, etc., may also be stored in sucha rack.

[0030] The rack 21 includes a housing 29 which is elongated and isformed with a rear wall 31 which is adapted to be positioned adjacent asupporting surface such as a wall, partition, etc. The elongated housing29 is also formed with top and bottom walls 33 and 35, respectively anda front wall 37. End walls 39 join the rear, top, bottom and front wallsto complete the housing 29. The end walls extend well forwardly of thefront wall 37 as can be seen most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2 of thedrawings to provide lateral support for the retainer loops which will behereinafter described. An elongated opening 43 is formed in the frontwall 37 and extends substantially the length of the housing 29. Thisopening is defined by inwardly bent portions 45 of the front wall whichextend parallel to the top and bottom walls 33 and 35 respectively toeffectively form hooks. The storage rack housing 29 may be formed of anysuitable material such as metal or plastic although plastic is preferredbecause of its light weight, low cost and ease of forming.

[0031] The storage rack 21 further includes a multiplicity of retainerloops 51. Each retainer loop 51 is formed of a strip of a tough,resilient, abrasive-resistant resin, preferably a polyester resin orlaminate. The preferred construction for each retainer loop is twolayers of oriented polyethylene terephthalate laminated with a centrallayer of polyethylene, the same basic construction as is used incommercial identification cards and similar articles.

[0032] Each retainer loop 51 is formed with a bight portion 53 joining apair of legs 55 and 57. A pair of L-shaped notches 61 are formed nearthe distal end of each leg 55,57, with the base leg of each L-shapednotch extending towards the distal end of its leg. The notches may beformed by stamping, cutting or in any conventional manner suitable forforming a notch in a laminate strip of plastic. The notches arecomplementary in shape to the inwardly extending portions 45 of thefront wall 37 of the housing 29 being only slightly larger so as to betightly received by the hook portions of the front wall as can be mostclearly seen in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

[0033] The retainer loops 51 may be installed on the elongated housing29 before the end walls 39 are installed on the housing. Additionally,to facilitate the ease of installation of retainer loops, a retainerloop insertion slot 65 is formed in the front wall 37 of the housing 29and extends through the inwardly extending portions 45 thereof as ismost clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

[0034] Circular passages 67 are formed in the rear wall 31 of thestorage rack housing 29 near opposite ends thereof to receive the heads69 of suction cups 71 to support the storage rack on a wall or othersupport surface. The circular passages 67 may also be used to receivenails or screws to fasten the storage rack to a supporting surface or adouble sided adhesive tape may also be used.

[0035]FIGS. 4 and 6 of the drawings show another embodiment of theinvention incorporated into a storage rack 81 which is similar tostorage rack 21 and includes an elongated housing 83 having a rear wall91, top wall 93, bottom wall 95, a front wall 97 and end walls 99. Anelongated opening 103 is formed in the front wall 97 and extendssubstantially the length of the housing 83. This elongated opening isdefined by inwardly extending portions 105 of the front wall 97 whichare reversely curved as can be seen most clearly in FIG. 4 of thedrawings.

[0036] The storage rack 81 includes a multiplicity of retainer loops 111which are formed of the same material as used for retainer loops 51which have been previously described. Each retainer loop has a bightportion 113 joining a pair of legs 115 and 117. A pair of semi-circularnotches 121 are formed in each leg near its distal end as can be mostclearly seen in FIG. 6 of the drawings. These notches may be formed inthe same manner as the notches 61 previously described for the firstembodiment of this invention. The notches 121 are slightly larger thanthe inwardly extending reversely curved portions 105 so that they willreceive the inwardly curved portions 105 when the retaining loops 111are installed in the elongated housing 83 as shown most clearly in FIG.4 of the drawings.

[0037] Referring now to FIG. 7, a kit 149 is illustrated which includeshardware for mounting the storage rack to a support surface. The kit 149includes a storage rack 21′, adhesive tape 155 and an eraser 159, allconveniently packaged in a container, such as a carton, blister pack, orthe like. It is noted that the storage rack 21′ included with the kit149 may be identical to the storage rack 21 described previously exceptthat the storage rack 21′ does not include suction cups.

[0038] As is illustrated in FIG. 8, the storage rack 21′ is secured to asupport surface 161 by the adhesive tape 155 located between the supportsurface 161 and the storage rack 21′. Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10,before applying the adhesive tape 155 to the support surface 161, thesupport surface 161 is prepared by rubbing the support surface 161 withthe eraser 159, for example, six to eight times. The area preparedshould be the intended bonding region 163 (e.g. the portion of thesupport surface that will be making contact with the adhesive) of thesupport surface 161. After rubbing the bonding region 163 with theeraser 159, the eraser dust is wiped away with a clean cloth, by a swipeof the hand or by some other means. Next, the protective backing 163 ofthe adhesive tape 155 is removed and the adhesive tape 155 is firmlyapplied to the bonding region 163 of the support surface 161. Ifdesired, the rear wall 31 of the storage rack 21′ may be prepared usingthe method described above. Next, the remaining protective backing 165of the adhesive tape 155 is removed and the storage rack 21′ is placedagainst the adhesive tape 155. Firm pressure is applied to the storagerack 21′ for example, for 10 to 15 seconds. The amount of time andpressure may vary with the adhesive material used and/or the surfacematerials to which the adhesive adheres. A slight rocking motion of thestorage rack 21′ may be used to obtain complete contact between theadhesive tape 155 and the storage rack 21′. In order to allow theadhesive to properly set, the storage rack 21′ should not be used for atleast one hour after application and possibly longer depending on theparticular adhesive used to bond the storage rack 21′ to the supportsurface 161.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 10, the adhesive tape 155 includes a backingmaterial 171 and an adhesive layer 173 and 175. The backing material 171can be made by any known method of film forming, such as, for example,extrusion, co-extrusion, solvent casting, foaming, non-woven technology,and the like. Thinner backings tend to provide easier removal than dothicker ones. One example of adhesive tape 155 includes a single layerfoam backing material having a thickness in the range of ⅛″ to ¼″.

[0040] The adhesive of the adhesive layer 173 and 175 may comprise anypressure-sensitive adhesive. An exemplary adhesive is a rubber basedmaterial, and exemplary pressure-sensitive adhesives suitable for thisinvention include Avery 2116 adhesive.

[0041] While the invention has been described herein with respect to astorage rack, the invention is not limited thereto and may be used tobond any object to any surface or to bond any two surfaces together.While embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it isunderstood that the invention is not limited correspondingly in scope,but includes all changes, modifications and equivalents coming withinthe spirit and terms of the claims appended hereto.

We claim:
 1. A method of attaching an object to a surface, comprising:rubbing the surface with a rubber or soap eraser; and using adhesivematerial at the rubbed surface to hold the object to the surface.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising rubbing the eraser on a surface ofthe object.
 3. The method of claim 1, said using comprising applyingadhesive material to at least one rubbed surface.
 4. The method of claim1, said using comprising applying double sided adhesive tape to at leastone of the rubbed surface and an object, and applying pressure to urgethe object and surface together with the double sided adhesive tapetherebetween.
 5. A kit for mounting an object to a surface, comprising:a rubber or soap eraser; and an adhesive material to hold an object to asurface rubbed by the eraser.
 6. The kit of claim 5, further comprisingan object for mounting to the surface.
 7. The kit of claim 6, whereinthe object is a wire organizer.
 8. The kit of claim 7, wherein the wireorganizer includes: an elongated housing having a back wall, a frontwall and top and bottom walls; an elongated opening formed in said frontwall of said elongated housing, said elongated opening being defined byinwardly and rearwardly extending portions of said front wall forminghooks; a multiplicity of retainer loops formed of a strip of a tough,resilient, abrasive-resistant resin, each retainer loop having a bightportion positioned outwardly of said front wall of said elongatedhousing and two legs extending through said elongated opening in saidfront wall to position the distal ends of each retainer loop inside saidelongated housing; a hook engaging notch formed in the distal end ofeach of said legs of said retainer loops, said hook engaging notcheseach having an inwardly extending notch portion and a rearwardlyextending notch portion adapted to receive said hooks to precludewithdrawal of the retainer loops through said elongated opening; and 9.The kit of claim 8, wherein said rearwardly extending portions of saidfront wall extend parallel to said top and bottom walls of saidelongated housing.
 10. The kit of claim 9, wherein said inwardly andrearwardly extending portions of said front wall of said elongatedhousing are reversely curved.